USDA Program Offers Hay & Pasture Relief

With ongoing dry conditions and a rainfall deficit affecting Tennessee, officials with the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) want to remind producers enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) that opportunities for managed haying and grazing exist. With a modification to their conservation plan, certain (CRP) stands established to permanent grasses (cool-season and native warm season grasses), are eligible to be cut for hay or grazed. Most eligible areas for managed haying and grazing are land that was enrolled in a general signup.

Beginning July 2, CRP participants who have received written permission can hay or graze CRP stands. According to Gregg Brann, NRCS Grazing Lands Specialist, “Native grasses will be an excellent source of hay during this drought. Due to deep rooting of natives they will be more vegetative and higher quality than other forages that have dried up. It is important to harvest native grasses as soon as possible after the July 2 date. The ideal height to harvest natives for hay is 30” tall or when the first seedhead appears. My calculations show if CRP yields four tons per acre and half of the hay is given to the contract harvester for cutting, raking, and rolling the hay, the producer would still have four rolls of hay for a cost of only $4.00 per roll.“

CRP participants can have the next annual payment reduced by only 25-percent for acres hayed or grazed this summer. Hay harvested under the managed haying option can be sold, offering an attractive financial incentive considering recently reported hay shortages and potential worsening conditions. Haying or grazing is only allowed once every 3 years on the same acreage.

NRCS Private Lands Biologist Mike Hansbrough says, “Most native warm season grass stands have become too thick for many species of wildlife. Removal of this grass with only one cutting will make the stands better for wildlife in the long term.” In the case of native warm season grasses, landowners can expect 30 inches or more of re-growth within a couple of months, providing for wildlife cover later this summer and into fall and winter. CRP continuous buffer strips, generally established in more sensitive areas, are not eligible for this haying or grazing option.

For more information, about the Conservation Reserve Program, contact your nearest USDA Service Center listed in the blue pages of your phone directory. Or visit the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) website at http://www.tn.nrcs.usda.gov/ and look for CRP under Programs or the Farm Service Agency (FSA) website at http://www.fsa.usda.gov and look for FSA under Conservation Programs. CRP is administered by FSA with the NRCS providing technical assistance.

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